


You're Still Here

by TheDalishWarden



Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Dark Ritual, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:48:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3893566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDalishWarden/pseuds/TheDalishWarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the Archdemon dead and the Darkspawn retreating, Alistair can't stop marveling at the fact that his beloved is still with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Still Here

\-----------------------

His ears were ringing from the volume of the blast, his eyes still stung from the sudden brightness, and most of his body ached from where he'd slid across the hard ground, but Alistair pushed the physical discomforts from the forefront of his mind as he stumbles to his feet, blinking blearily. He was definitely still alive, and the others..?

Zevran and Oghren start to stir beside him, both of them groaning as they push themselves up as well, but Alistair's gaze is now locked on the massive body of the Archdemon that lays several yards away from them.

It.. It was dead. The Archdemon was dead, the blade of his lover's sword still embedded deeply into it's skull, and Alistair's gaze quickly moves from the dead creature to the Elven woman laying on the ground beside it. 

_Mahariel.._

She'd been blown back by the blast of Archdemon's death as well, and for a short, terrible moment Alistair thinks that Morrigan's ritual had failed, that he'd literally stood there while his lover sacrificed everything to save them all, but before the threat of grief can rise any further Mahariel suddenly starts to stir, touching a hand to her head as she sits up, and the cold weight that had startled to settle in his stomach flares up into a rush of relief that almost makes him dizzy. 

She was alive.   _She was alive._  Mahariel was still alive, and he was alive. It had worked! Morrigan's ritual had worked and in that moment, if the very thought didn't actually make him nauseous, Alistair could have kissed that crazy witch. She'd saved both of them, just like she said she would, and Alistair makes a quick mental note to thank her later for keeping her word. 

Zevran and Oghren both let out audible sighs of relief once they see that Mahariel is alive and moving, but before either of them can take a step towards her Alistair is rushing forward, everything else around him nothing but an unimportant blur as he hurries to close the distance between himself and his lover. 

Mahariel turns at the sound of his approaching footsteps, and the way her eyes light up when their gazes meet is the most beautiful sight he's ever seen. He practically tackles her in his excitement, but he turns them both to hit the ground before her, and the sound of her breathless laughter ringing out as she returns his tight embrace is music to his ears.

“You're alive,” Alistair whispers in near disbelief, his voice shaking a little as Mahariel draws her head back to look down at him and she grins, peppering his face with soft kisses before resting her forehead against his, and Alistair sighs at the contact. He feels her slide a hand over his chest, stopping once her palm is resting above his heart, and the look of utter relief in her eyes makes him smiles so hard that his cheeks start to hurt. 

“We're both alive,” Mahariel whispers before kissing him, harder this time, and in spite of the lingering daze he's still in Alistair doesn't hesitate to return her kiss with vigor. He almost whimpers when she pulls away from him this time, but it trails off when he sees her eyes shining with unshed tears in spite of her smile. “Morrigan kept her promise.. It really worked didn't it?”

“That it did,” Alistair affirms with another warm smile, his own eyes starting to brim with emotion as he cups a hand behind her head, pulling her down to press his lips against hers once more, and it's only when he suddenly hears someone clearing their throat that Alistair remembers they're not alone on the rooftop. 

He looks over to see Zevran and Oghren standing a few feet away, but for once their knowing smiles and teasing remarks don't bother him. He's still too relieved, still too elated at having Mahariel still by his side to bother blushing over Oghren's crude comments as Zevran helps them both to their feet, his words a muffled hum to Alistair as they're both brushed off by the Antivan elf.

He's all too aware of the loss of contact as he steps back to let Mahariel up, but he has no time to pout before she reaches over to take his hand in hers, and Alistair beams down at his love. He's not sure if Oghren's exaggerated snort of disgust is directed at her or him, and right then Alistair didn't really care.

His attention was all on the beautiful, amazing Dalish Warden beside him. They'd done it again. They'd beaten the odds together and accomplished what no known Warden before them had done. Mahariel was still with him, her heart was still beating in her chest, and Alistair truly felt like the luckiest man in the world.

“Mahariel,” Alistair starts quietly, and he can't help but smile again when she looks up at him, “I-”

“They're retreating!” a new voice suddenly cuts in, and Alistair looks over to see one of Denerim's soldiers hurrying towards them. “Most of their forces were destroyed already, but with the Archdemon slain the remaining Darkspawn ranks have scattered. Our soldiers are cutting them down as we speak.”

“Then we'd better get down there and help chop the rest of those blighters up,” Oghren grunts, his gaze wandering back to Mahariel and Alistair. “And you two are gonna have a lot of eyes on ya once this is over and done with.” 

At the dwarf's words Alistair's attention darts back to the soldier still standing beside them, and when he sees the soldier gazing at Mahariel with a look of reverence he can't help but bristle. He knew the fight wasn't over just yet, and it might have been a little juvenile on his part, but hadn't they at least earned a few moments to themselves before half of Ferelden started scrambling for her attention?

But as if sensing his thoughts Zevran suddenly steps forward, clearing his throat loudly to shift the attention towards himself.

“Let us not keep any of them waiting then,” Zevran declares, fixing Oghren and the young soldier with a pointed stare. “Our Wardens need a moment to catch their breath, and there will surely be plenty of time for congratulations once this mess is cleaned up.” The soldier opens his mouth as if to protest, but he stumbles forward when Oghren gives him a light shove.

“That should buy you a few minutes, my friends,” Zevran says with a smile, returning Mahariel's thankful nod with one of his own before he turns and follows after the other retreating forces. Alistair's gaze darts back to Mahariel and he leans down towards her, sighing softly as he rests his forehead against hers once more.

"So, you just finished off that Archdemon and defeated the Blight.. What's next on the agenda for our exalted hero?” Alistair asks her with a grin, and he smiles when he feels her give his hand an affectionate squeeze. 

"Well if I had my way, the next thing would be a hot bath and a night off," Mahariel replies quietly, nuzzling her face against his before she sighs softly. “But I suppose instead we're going to spend the next few days dealing with every noble around.”

“Maybe, but  that's  a price I'm actually willing to pay,” Alistair chuckles, curling his fingers under Mahariel's chin to tilt her head back before he presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I'm so proud of you, Mahariel.."

“As I am of you. Half of this victory is yours, after all,” Mahariel says with a smile, though her brow furrows a little when Alistair can't stop himself from scoffing, “Don't laugh, I'm being serious. You know I couldn't have done it, or any of this without you, Alistair.”

“Oh, I don't know about that,” Alistair says with a shrug, smiling as he presses a few lazy kisses to her cheek. “You've got quite an impressive list of accomplishments under your belt.. Saving the mages and their tower, breaking a werewolf curse that would've led to a bloodbath, restoring order to a Dwarven empire, curing Eamon and saving his son, striking a killing blow to a corrupted Old God, and doing all of this after stumbling into Ostagar with the Blight sickness trying to bring you down.. Am I missing anything?”

“Hmm, what about falling hopelessly in love with a royal bastard even though he steals my cheese every other meal?” Mahariel suggests, and Alistair's bark of laughter nearly drowns out her own.

“Fair enough.. and shame on me for overlooking your greatest feat,” Alistair chuckles, leaning in for another kiss but looking away when he hears a faint chorus of cheering floating up from the city below, and he hears Mahariel sigh quietly.

“Well, we can't avoid-” Mahariel starts, but cuts off with a muffled gasp as Alistair captures her mouth in a heated kiss, combing one hand through her hair as his other arm wraps around her waist to pull her closer to him, and he feels a familiar heat flare through him when Mahariel lets out a quiet moan of her own, reaching up to wrap her arm around his neck.

The cheers still echoing around them seem to fade into a distant hum, unimportant for the moment since right now, to Alistair, their shared survival and ensured future together was all that mattered.

_She_  was all that mattered.

\-----------------------

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for a prompt on the DA Kink Meme  
> Original Prompt Here: http://dragonage-kink.livejournal.com/11571.html?thread=54539571#t54539571


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